Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to emergency response, and, more specifically, to enabling response to distress signals sent by individuals.
Description of the Related Art
Current technology for summoning help in the event of an emergency relies on the ability of a user of the technology to “dial 911,” which is to say that a user of the technology must secure access to a telephone, unlock the telephone, correctly enter a telephone number to summon help, and then describe the situation to a dispatch operator on the other end of the call.
In emergencies in the real world, the time and capacity necessary to perform all of these operations are generally not available to persons subject to the emergency during the course of the emergency. Simply put, a user has neither the time nor the concentration to “unlock, dial, and beg for help” while being threatened with violence. In the case of medical emergencies, the user may further lack capacity to “unlock, dial, and beg for help” as he or she teeters on the border of lost consciousness. The paradigm of “unlock, dial, and beg for help” works for some people in some situations, but the real emergencies faced by many people, particularly people field-deployed to dangerous situations, are not well-served.